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Sunday, November 27, 2011

I'm heading out tomorrow for the weekend to take Trevor to Florida for a fishing trip with my father-in-law. We're after the big bruising redfish that cruise the chilly Gulf waters this time of year.

This past weekend, we had some friends over to watch some of the big in-state rivalry football games like Auburn/Alabama (sorry, Steph), Florida/Florida State, Georgia/Georgia Tech, and Clemson/South Carolina.

On the tailgating menu was Grilled Chipotle and Honey Wings [click for recipe] (a recipe I developed to go with Bush's Baked Beans Honey variety) and a Steakhouse Burger. This is a "non-recipe" type post since it's nothing very original, but you'll get the general idea.

The beef - ground chuck roast seasoned with black pepper and garlic, formed into 3 ounce patties. Sealed the stuffing between two patties.

The stuffing - I like the sharp bite of blue cheese. A lot of my guests don't so I compromised. I used blue cheese with a quarter slice of American cheese for the "I don't like blue cheese" people and they loved it. I "forgot" to tell them there was blue cheese in it until they were saying how good it was.

The onions - caramelized sliced onions and hit with a splash of white wine in the last 10 minutes.

The mushrooms - sliced and sauteed in butter 5 minutes. Added some diced garlic and parsley, sauteed another 2 minutes.

The sauce - 2 parts mayo, 1 part your favorite steak sauce and then seasoned to taste with salt, pepper, and turbinado sugar.

The buns - grilled.

Grilled stuffed "jucy lucy" burgers are always a hit.

Alexis said this was one of the year's best burgers. Close, but I have to agree.

Like the cool football themed paper plates and cups? Solo Cup Company has this line out in stores right now just in time for the bowl-game season and the NFL playoffs. They have all the benefits of their normal plates (cut resistant, grease proof, etc) and are "cute to boot" (Alexis said that.....not me).

If you are planning bowl game or playoff get together, keep an eye out for the Solo Cup football line in your store. I say "if" because the local Tennessee Vols are not bowl eligible and my hometown Jacksonville Jaguars have been mathematically eliminated from play off contention. Mathematically eliminated?How bad do you have to be at sports to even have "math" beat you?

[Standard Disclaimer] I received compensation from Bush Beans to develop the wing recipe and compensation from Solo Cup Company. I already used both products anyway.

LOL.. I think you have to be pretty bad to have math beat you in sports, but I could be wrong.. sports may have changed since I played them back in the day :)Chris, you continually outdo yourself.. and I must say, I'm so jealous at your photography skills! My goodness everything looks amazing.. I want it all!!Enjoy your fishing trip!

Chris, great combination--wings and burgers. Hope you are coming to Destin,Fl (The World's Luckiest Fishing Village). Redfish are jumping in the boats. Lots of Mingo, grouper, trigger, and amberjack as well.

Did you know the mister bleeds orange?!?! He's a Vols fan through and through and was more than a bit irritated with them this season...the good news is I no longer have to wash his orange sweatshirt and matching pants each week as he's buried them deep in his closet until next season! Happy fishing!